LNP out to fight crime
Watts pledges to increase police funding Rare lizard births lift aquarium
LNP’S police spokesman escaped the cool climes of Toowoomba to take in some Far North sunshine and talk tough on crime.
Yesterday morning Trevor Watts fronted the media at the Esplanade Neighbourhood Police Beat to promise more police funding if the Liberal National Party is elected at the next state election.
Mr Watts said under the Labor government there had been a “slashing” of Queensland Police budget.
“And we have also seen the removal of breach of bail as an offence,” he said.
“These two things mean there is more crime in our community.”
The politician did not cite any study that links increased police funding and lower crime rates.
‘The study is Queensland, what we know is police numbers the are down, police dollars are down under this soft-oncrime Labor government.”
In June, the Queensland Treasurer and Deputy Premier Jackie Trad announced key law and order spending including $171.9m over four years for 400 additional police officers.
The Member for North Toowoomba said in June the expenditure equated to a stripping of the QPS capital policing budget worth $44m.
In regard to youth crime rates in the Far North, Mr Watts conceded the “problem is often complicated and often family-based”.
“We know working with the whole of government will lead to the solving of some of these problems,” he said.
Mr Watts said it was “important” to understand the cause of youth crime rates.
“We have to make sure we have educational and training opportunities because what we want is young criminals to become taxpayers and we want the recidivism to stop,” he said.
Mr Watts was due to meet local neighbourhood watch groups and will hear feedback from local officers during his visit.
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TWO rainforest reptiles have given birth in a rare breeding at Cairns Aquarium.
The aquarium has announced the hatching of two emerald green tree monitor babies, the only species of its kind on display in Australia.
The monitors are notoriously difficult to keep as they are a fragile and need specific conditions to live in captivity.
Humidity, climbing structures, habitat design and feeding programs are important variables for this species, however their breeding success is determined by the female who will only breed when in the best of health.
Aquarium chief Daniel Leipnik said to know they were able to successfully replicate the species’ breeding conditions was a fantastic outcome.
“The tree monitors are active inquisitive creatures and they are definitely one of the most popular animals we have at the aquarium,” he said.